Ups, Downs and In betweens

Todays downs;

* Children woke at 4am
* Because children woke at 4am they had to deal with cranky mummy till school drop off
* Realised that friends baby shower is on the weekend Andrew is away (next week)
* Andrew is in adelaide today, left at 4.30am and won't be home till after bed
* Cooked casserole for dinner ... Oh casserole how I despise thee

Ups;

* Beautiful friend took Hamish for a play date after school drop off so I could get some sleep
* Kids helped clean the house because I explained that I was still very tired and we would have a more relaxed evening if they helped me
* TimTams waiting for me after kids go to bed
* A few glasses of red wine
* Very little rain

In betweens;

* Didn't get to sleep during Hamish's play date due to multiple sales calls. But honestly I find it hard to sleep through the day anyhow
* Have to wait until the kids go to bed to eat timtams
* Andrew not home, but I get to be in charge of the remote
* Called friend and she said it was BYO children type of baby shower

All in all the day sort of worked out in that weird balanced way that makes you wonder why you went through the whole thing in the first place.

What are you Waiting For?

Between last year and this year a few of my most beloved friends (Andrew included) have turned 40. This has been making me think a lot of things but the most predominant thought is "OH MY GOD ... I'm almost 40". From there its just a short skip and a jump and before I know it we will be selling our inner west pad and buying a condo in a seniors type area. You find me wearing a strapless swimming costume with one of those skirts attached watching my skin turn a lovely shade of leather.Ok ok I hear you I'm quiet a way off 40 and 40 is quiet a way away from retirement but these things have a way of getting into my brain. Sometimes this is not a bad thing. This year I am feeling the want to do things that normally I would put off till later. The problem with later is that often once later gets here you are either still not ready or the time has passed. Then you look back, and wonder what did I spend that time doing?I'm not talking about regrets but I am talking about not comfortably watching life pass without actively participating in it.

I have a very simple list of to dos. Mainly because most of the things I want to do are sort of internal stuff but the list of exciting and more interesting to dos is as follows;

* Buy a pair of roller skates (and use them) - Its the using them that will be the challenge because if you haven't figures it out yet I'm quiet lazy and would most often rather jump in my car than put on skates. But that is why it is a challenge.

* Go to India - this one is actually well on the way and the plan is to buy tickets tomorrow and figure out the logistics before we go in November.

* Fix up the house - OK so this may not be our year for doing a major reno after all. But I do hope that in some way we spruce up the house so that at least we feel better about living here.

* Join a gym - I hear you laughing :). But the thing is that I wish I was fitter and I think that the reason I get pain in my back is because my muscles are not supple or strong enough.

* Learn to cook lamb shanks - it seems easy enough but me and slow cooking don't usually do very well together so it may have to be something I practice.

* Listen to more music - something that should be made easier now that AB and the boys brought me an iPod dock for mothers day.

* Read those books that I keep on my shelf for one day - truth be told I actually have read a few of them in the last 12 months but I have a lot more to go.

* Clean the kitchen - ok that's more of a job that needs doing right now and that I am happily putting of to spend the time blogging .... Should get onto that really.

Maybe I'll put some lamb shanks on afterward? Probably not.

What is it that you are waiting till later to do? I guess the important question is what are you waiting for?

Bookshelf Porn (2)

I'm SOOOOO doing this one day. I know I will never be able to find the book I am looking for. But I don't care, it's so pretty !!

10 Lessons for this Week

1. If your littlest boy is going to preschool on a rainy day, pack more than 2 pairs of spare pants. Be aware that putting gum boots on a three year old means they will believe its ok to jump in every puddle, even if the puddles are deeper than their boots are high.

2. If the above child has a cold then he won't be well rested. This will probably mean that he will decide to do the exact opposite of anything you ask him to do. With this in mind do NOT ask him not to jump in puddles again today or not to stand in the rain. If you choose not to take this advice see lesson one and pack extra pants, tops, jumpers, hats, socks and underwear.

3. If you need to help a friend get her cat put to sleep because of a broken leg it would be best not to take two boys under four with you. If you have to, be aware that they will not feel the reverence of the situation and will more than likely run a muck while you are trying to love and support the cat and her owner.

4. There is nothing more interesting to children under four than a dead animal. And no matter how loved the above animal was, they will still want to see what happens when they pull the cats tail and poke it in its eyes. Best to plan where you will put the dead cat once you bring it home to help alleviate these problems.

5. If you decide to leave 'it' till tomorrow then tomorrow will inevitably be extraordinarily busy. This includes doing the groceries, washing your hair, or catching up on the latest Doctor Who episode. Do it today or else you will still have grubby hair, no food, and be a week behind your favourite TV show a days later.

6. If you buy extra dog food because its on sale find a place to store the bags quickly. If you don't you WILL find that the dogs have spread 30kg of dog food all over the floor. You will then have to spend the next hour scooping it back up.

7. During rainy weather make sure that when the kids feed the dogs they put the lid back on the dog food BEFORE it starts to rain. Otherwise you will walk out the next morning to find $50 worth of wet, rancid dog food that you then have to spend an hour scooping up and throwing away.

8. If you dislike casserole then no matter how much red wine you put in it you will still dislike casserole. Although you will get massive amounts of 'wife' brownie points for making him casserole when he knows how much you don't like eating it.

9. Do not be surprised if if during the week you decide not to go ahead with your building plans, one or all of the following happens;
a. You walk out to find a light fitting on fire
b. It rains for 5 days straight to remind you of just how many leaks you house currently has
c. Because of the above rain the mice that you thought you finally outwitted decide to come home again.

10. When the above happens there are two ways to deal with it. Either go back over your plans and rethink. Or put your head in the sand and decide to take separate holidays. I'm going to India in November and Andrew is tossing up either riding a motorbike across the Simpson desert or across Vietnam. The mice can have the house. It will probably flood or burn down while we are away anyhow.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

About 4 months ago I wrote about the fact that my red string bracelet had fallen off somewhere in the course of the day.

I knew that the idea behind the bracelet was that it would fall off when I no longer needed the blessing that was attached to it. And thought that it was perfect timing.

I have had one of those weeks where things have been a bit nuts. I actually looked at my wrist a few days ago and thought about how I felt like I still needed the blessing.

Last night as I made my bed I tossed back my nice clean doona to hop into bed and there next to my pillow was my red string bracelet.

I don't know if its what your meant to do and the part of me that is pessimistic about such things sat there with it in my hand for a while thinking. Then the part of me that it willing to believe in karma or fate tied it back around my wrist.

Mothers Day!!

It's quiet absurd. I know but I am so excited about mothers day this year. I'm not normally pro these hallmark holidays like fathers, mother or valentine day. But there are a few reasons that this year is different.

Firstly, Jack participated in his first mothers day stall at school this week. The parents donate a present that goes into the stall and then the kids pick something out.  When I went to pick him up on friday he was carrying this massive bag but it was perfectly flat.  I must admit a little part of me melted when I saw him grinning at me with pride at his first purchase all on his own just for mummy. But a little part of me also realised that the only thing I could imagine was in such a flat bag was a calendar. I suddenly had an image of someone regifting a calendar from the beginning of the year and me being given a calendar with 1/2 the year almost over.

He said I could look in the bag because the present was wrapped so I did. Then it started to look and feel (yes I gave it a squish when he wasn't looking) like a padded coat hanger. A friend looked and said that it wasn't but it wasn't far off. I have no idea what's in it but I am almost giddy with excitement. Sure it may be a door hanger with "I love my mum" written on it but whatever it is it will be treasured.

Hamish also asked Andrew (loudly so I heard) to buy mummy a love heart for mothers day. I kept telling him I didn't want to know what he wanted to get me and then told AB that he had to try and find something from Hamish because this year Hamish gets the concept. I reminded AB that last year for fathers day Jack said he wanted to get him a turtle and Hamish wanted to get him something for work so I racked by brain and found him a turtle and a key ring.

In the end the reason I am so excited is because I think that this year my boys will get me what they think I would love. Without putting to much pressure on one gift I feel like whatever they buy will be indicative of how they see me and I am very excited to find out what that is ... Even if its a padded coat hanger!

PS. Jack got me an orange butterfly on a stick and a packet of sunflower seeds (perfect). And Andrew brought me (from Hamish) a docking station for my iPod so I could play music round the house more. Although Hamish tells me its so we can dance together. All in all it turned out to be a perfect mothers day !!!

Word of the Day

Last night I was watching one of my favourite TV shows (Big Bang Theory, if you haven't seen it your missing out on some quality comedy). There was one scene that caught my eye.

Wolowitz - Don't let him get to you its Kripky

Rajesh - Yeah he's a ginormous knob

Wolowitz - That's why he eats by himself instead of sitting here at the cool table

Rajesh - Fo shizzle!

Huh? Fo What? Fo shizzle ... I've heard it a bit in recent times but for the first time I wondered what the does that actually mean?

After avid googling I found out that Fo shizzle means 'for sure'. How did 'for sure' become Fo shizzle you may ask? Me too, so I kept googling and realised that the whole saying is Fo Shizzle Ma Nizzle which apparently stands for 'for sure my n**ger'.

After even more googling I realised that adding 'izzle' to the end of words is a rapper thing to help more words rhyme (I'm guessing they don't believe that the art of rhyming comes from not making words up) and that most of the web credits Snoop Dogg with coming up with the first 'izzle'.

Apparently some things on the web are wrong *shock*. There was one guy saying that actually the first 'izzle' came from "Double Dutch Bus" from the Gap Band. But wiktionary cleared it up with

Etymology

Popularized by rap artist Snoop Dogg, from a style of cant (esoteric slang) used by black pimps and jive hustlers of the 1970’s. The “-iz, -izzle, -izzo, -ilz” speak, similar in some ways to Pig Latin, was developed by American blacks around the period of the Harlem Renaissance, with hotspots of the speak in Oakland, New York City, and Philadelphia. It was partially developed as young black girls improvised chants and nursery rhymes while jumping rope, with the -iz dialect serving to add syllables when necessary to maintain the rhythm. A similar -iz dialect has also been used by carnies(carnival workers) for centuries.

So although Snoop Dog may have come up with the first Fo shizzle he didn't come up with the actual 'izzle'.

Once I had gotten to the bottom of Fo shizzle (or fo shizz to those of us who are REALLY cool). I wondered what other great new expressions am I missing out on. I asked facebook and got;

Chillaxing - chilling crossed with relaxing

Totes - totally

Fantabulous - fantastic crossed with fabulous

But I was unsatisfied and kept googling. What other words was I missing out on?

Some of my favourites were:

Peeps - my people, friends. "I'm going to meet my peeps"

Props - to give one their 'proper' and due respect. "props dude that was awesome"

Jonesing - to crave something. "I'm jonesing for some fries"

Money - cool "that car is so money"

I also found a great web list that had a list of 53 slang terms by decade. It starts in the 1920s and goes to 2000. I haven't checked that they have the first use of the word (in that context) corresponding to the correct decade. But its interesting to see when the much used terms like.

And another site that has a parents questionnaire to find out how 'in the know' they are about their teens language. With questions like:

Your son and his friend are shooting hoops in your driveway. When you ask if he'd like to stay for dinner, your sons friend says "I've gotta bounce" what does he have to do?

a. Finish the game

b. Get going

c. Run it by his parents

Most of the slang like Fo shizz started out as US rapper slang. But I also came across a list of common slang used within the UK things like;

- Wasteman (London) - idiot, fool

- Bewt or pearla (Wales) - fantastic or beautiful

- Tidy or sound (Wales) - good

- Craic (Northern Ireland) - good fun

- Buff or peng (London and south east) - very attractive

- Bangin' or mint or lush (Wales) - very good looking

- Owned (London and south east) - beaten up or made a fool of

So if you find any great slang words that you want to share please let me know. Im also wondering if I might break out into a little fo shizzle myself ... maybe not. I will leave you with some Jay-Z lyrics. If you can translate let me know that as well *grin*

H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
That's the anthem get'cha damn hands up
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Not guilty ya'll got-ta feel me
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
That's the anthem get'cha damn hands UP!

Bad Day at Work

Recently I seem to be encountering people being cranky in their workplace. Hmm I said recently but I'm sure its an everyday occurrence everywhere. There are three situations that have cropped up recently though, where friends of mine have had run ins.

1. A teacher at Jacks school was approached by a parent who wanted to discuss her childs reaction to an event. The teacher in a very defensive and dismissive tone told the mother "I did tell everyone they had another option but your child was not listening". She then turned her back and walked away from the flabbergasted mother.

2. A teacher at Hamish's preschool was seen grabbing two crying children in what was described as a rough way and raised her voice at the other staff calling "would someone help me with these two children, I have things to do". Unfortunately for her it was the mother of the a fore mentioned children who saw the event.

3.  Recently while at a pub, a friend and I asked an employee to change the air-conditioning temperature. While we waited we decided sit elsewhere and told the employee as he returned. When he went back behind the bar he exclaimed to his colleague that he thought we were "f**king stupid c**ts". Unfortunately for him my friends husband heard the comment and a situation occurred.

We all sometimes have bad days at work. Or just days where we are cranky. When is one able to make allowances for that?

Personally I don't think any of these situations are ok. Some of them though I think are understandable.   Trust me I have bad-mouthed clients behind their backs. The problem is that these people got caught.

I didn't mind that the pub worker called me a name. I'm sure he had had enough of difficult clients that day. But even Andrew said that if he had overheard the conversation he would have addressed the guy and felt right in doing so.

The first two cause me more of a problem. I could imagine feeling frustrated or dismissive with children and parents if I worked as a teacher. But these are our children and no parent would like to think that their teacher is not treating them with love and respect.

And yet what if these teachers were having a really bad day? Can we not make allowances?

In the end I guess the answer is no! Do what you want to us but if we ever catch you speaking that way to our children or in relation to our children, mumma bear will raise her head and bite yours off.

Lets Talk About Sex ... Baby!

I was reading a friends blog recently and she posted about a character in a show that is being called a 'slut'. I'm not going to mention what show because some of what was talked about hasn't aired in Australia yet. But after reading her blog, the comments, and the article and then watching the show in question it made me wonder about women and their sexuality.

They had the character do three things that I can see caused the outcry.

1. She wore a police woman uniform and was a kiss-a-gram.
2. She didn't avert her eyes when a male got undressed.
3. She made very forward sexual advances towards that male character.

Really!! That's it and for this she is spread over the daily rag as being a slut?

Are we so afraid of women who are sexuality forward?

In movies and TV shows all over the place men do similar things often much more openly than she did.

Why is it ok for men to gawk at/proposition a woman but when she does the same things it causes a stir?

Then today I was flicking channels on TV and found a talk show that was focusing on X-rated movies and women. Not just the women who are in the movies but also the women who watch them.

Apparently (according to the talk show I watched) women are responsible for 30% of X-rated movie sales and 50% of X-rated toy sales. And women centred X-rated parafinalia and movies are the fastest growing section of the market. Female X-rated movie stars earn 3 times more on average than the males in the same industry. It also mentioned that 1 in 3 women look at porn on occasion. That's right 1 in 3!!

Most women I know enjoy sex and most of the men I know, like women who know what they want. But apparently this doesn't always mean they (men and women) want to see their leading ladies being sexuality aggressive.

It makes me wonder about the people who commented on my friend blog and those who wrote the article chastising this woman for being forward about what she wants. Have we gained nothing from feminism in this sense? Do we still want women who are pussy cats in public but tigresses behind closed doors? Have we learnt nothing from sex in the city?